The Chosen Ones
by prospectpassword
Summary: When trouble threatens to destroy the demigod world once more, the children of the original Seven must do what their parents did and save them all. They are thrust into a quest laced with condescending gods, broken friendships, and lovesick monsters... A quest which will help them find their own rightful place in the intricate web of heroes, legends, and their parents.
1. Chapter 1- The Son of His Parents

**I**

**The Son of His Parents**

In Manhattan, New York, in a particular Strawberry Farm, a small boy no older than three weeks blinked, looking around his cream colored room. His eyes, a stunning emerald green, were inherited from his father. The ability to take in so much information and process it, though, was inherited from his mother.

It was safe to say that a son of his parents would be one of the most powerful demigods of his time. It was safe to say that Alec Jackson, son of Annabeth and Percy Jackson, would be one of the most powerful demigods of his time.

***αβχ***

"Alex!" Percy Jackson cried from the dining table, hoping his thirteen-year-old son would be able to hear him. "Time for sword fighting!" At first there was no reply, and then there was a groan.

Alex stumbled downstairs, his hair messy and tousled from a ten-hour sleep. "Hey, how're you going to be as good as me if you don't practice?" Percy asked, trying to uplift his son's spirits.

"What if I don't want to be as good as you, dad?" Alex mumbled, taking the seat across from him. Percy sighed. It wasn't uncommon, he had been told, for teenagers to behave as though they wanted to do nothing anybody else wanted of them. He just hoped Alex wasn't turning out to be one of those teenagers.

"Do you want breakfast?" Percy asked. Alex looked up at him, and Percy was again startled by the power his son's sea- colored eyes welded.

"Where's mom?" Alex replied. Usually in the Jackson household, that meant yes.

"She's taken Gwen to the Camp Library." Again Ale groaned. If his mother and eight- year- old sister were in the library, there was no chance they would come home for hours together. He was going to have to fend for himself.

"Well," Percy sighed, "I am the Swords Master, so I can't be late. Why don't you come join me at the arena when you've showered and had breakfast?" His son nodded, and watched his father leave the house.

Alec then got up and grabbed a banana. While he ate it, he thought about his best friends. His Roman best friends. Gods, he missed them. Just thinking about the "adventures" the three had had together years ago made Alec feel strangely nostalgic.

That's irrational; he thought to himself, they've changed. You have too. And then the poisonous thought: What if Lara and Sammy don't even like me anymore?

His eyes lingered onto the framed photo of the lot of them. It was taken three years ago, the last time they had properly met without meetings and monsters ruining their vacation.

Sammy Zhang was on the edge, laughing at something somebody- probably Louis- had said. His nose was wrinkled comically, and his mocha- colored cheeks were bright red. Alex grinned at the memory of Sammy. Never had he seen such a gullible nine-year-old.

His arm was around Lara Grace, daughter of Piper and Jason Grace. Her smile was classically dimpled, confident, and highly contagious. Glossy brown curls cascaded down her back, framing a beautiful descendant-of-Aphrodite face. Lara's electric blue eyes, the only evidence of her Jupiter heritage, shone, illuminating the photograph.

Alex smiled now, as he looked over to himself. So different but still the same, he thought, looking at the ten- year- old boy smiling his too-big-for-his-face smile, one hand around Riptide's pen form.

Next to him was Louis Valdez. The thirteen- year- old boy was winking, one hand behind his head in a rather flashy pose. Alex laughed out loud. His parents always told him Louis was a recreation of his father, Leo, and besides his green thumb (and hazel eyes) nothing like his mother, Calypso.

Louis was holding onto his sister, five at the time. Her front teeth were missing, forming a strange yet happy looking little- kid smile. Gwen's black hair was pulled back into her ponytail, yet there were still wisps falling out. Her grey eyes twinkled mischievously the way everybody's eyes did at the age.

That was it- the five of them. Younger, yes, but still best friends. _And I'd have it no other way,_ Alec thought as he stepped out into the Manhattan sunshine.

**** A/N: Thanks for reading so far! I know this chapter was somewhat short, and I will make the next one considerably longer. This is my first fanfic on here, so please tell me what you think. Constructive criticism will be much appreciated and revered! Again, thanks for reading. Chapter 2 will be out soon~ ****


	2. Chapter 2- News (And Hermes)

**II**

**News (and Hermes) **

Alex ran a hand through his blonde hair and looked around Camp Half-Blood. Even though it was a Saturday, campers had woken up early and gotten to training. He smiled sheepishly when he realized that he had slept in when everybody else was working hard.

He stretched, feeling the warmth of the sunshine radiating on his skin. Then, he decided to go see his father at the Sword Fighting Arena. Stretching again, he began to lightly jog down the hill, towards the arena.

Alex continued to run slowly, passing some of his friends as he went. "Hey, Will!" He cried, waving at a family friend, Will Solace. "Hey, guys!" He waved at the group of Apollo's children he was teaching archery to. A chorus of "hi's" returned his way, and with a smile, Alex continued running towards his father.

He enjoyed running. He loved the feeling of going fast; feeling the wind on the back of his head. He loved the way his shirt clung to his skin at his chest, and fluttered in the wind towards his torso. He loved the closeness to the earth as his shoes hit the grass, and then bounced back up to take another step.

Only when he got to the Sword Fighting Arena did Alex stop to catch his breath. It was a hot day outside, and he was tempted to go and get water, but decided against it. He was late enough as it was, and going to the Big House or finding a stray water bottle or water fountain would only take more time away.

He opened the door to the arena, waving at some satyrs who were standing around by the entrance. The cool A.C. hit Alex and he sighed happily, basking in its feeling. "Alex, there you are!" He looked up to find Louis, standing by the entrance to the training room, bottle of water in hand. "Your dad was looking for you."

Alex nodded, and approached Louis. Even though he was three years older than him, Louis was about the same height, if not shorter, than Alex, which made snatching the water bottle from him much easier.

"Hey!" Louis protested, and Alex just shrugged.

"I'm sorry, dude. I was thirsty." Louis grinned, shaking his head, and watched as his friend handed back the water bottle and began towards the training room. "I owe you!" Alex called as he opened the doors.

The clang of swords hitting each other was the immediate sound heard when he stepped into the polished gymnasium. It was a pleasant sound, exciting yet calming at the same time. Alex scouted the room, seeing demigods of all ages, some in armor, others without it. He squinted, looking for his dad.

Finally he saw Percy, who was wearing his chest plate but nothing else, examining what looked like the new collection of swords. "Dad!" Alex huffed, running over to him. Percy raised an eyebrow, looking back at his son.

"So glad you finally decided to join us," he said, throwing one glance at Alex and then returning to examine the swords.

"Daaaaaad," Alex groaned, looking at where his father was so engrossed in. "I had to have breakfast, and then I ran here as fast as possible-"

Percy cut his son off with a casual hand gesture, laughing. "Hey, it's fine." He then took out a sword from the rack, balanced it in his palm, and tossed it to Alex, who caught it with no trouble. "Now that you're here, though, let's get busy."

Alex balanced the sword out himself, finding that he liked the way it rested in his hand, though it was no Riptide. It was, however, not too heavy, nor too light, and the shape was so strong and streamlined that he considered using this sword, instead of Riptide, for the next Capture the Flag game. Percy picked up on his son's taste, and remarked, "It's good, isn't it?" Alex nodded, swishing around the sword carelessly.

"Is it new?" He asked, looking at his dad, and then back at the sword. He then realized he had a better question to ask. "Is it unclaimed?"

Percy chuckled at his son's enthusiasm, and began walking towards the younger children, who looked like they were playing so mindlessly they were going to hurt themselves. "It's not new." He said, as he walked. "It was actually found by a very old friend of mine, and we were going to send it down to the armory. I was just asked to examine it, along with some other swords that were found, to make sure they were in good shape to fight with." Alex nodded, and interjected,

"You haven't answered my question, though, dad," he pointed out. "I was curious as to whether it was unclaimed or not."

To his relief, Percy nodded. "Yeah," he said, "It's unclaimed. Why? Are you interested in it?" Alex tossed the sword in his hand again, and looked up at his father, coming to a stop.

"Actually, I am. Tell me more about it, dad. Who was the original owner? What's it called? Can it turn into a pen like Riptide? Can it-"

"-Curious, are we?" Both Percy and Alex whipped around at the voice. Louis Valdez stood behind the two of them, resting his hand on Alex's shoulder.

Alex chuckled lightly. "It's a good sword." He said simply.

"That, it is." Percy added, nodding. "It's called Epizon."

"Survivor," Alex echoed, smiling. "That's a good name for a sword."

"Yeah," Louis replied, raising an eyebrow, "Or a name that totally jinxes the owner." Alex swatted at him, brandishing the Celestial Bronze weapon.

"Well, I've got work to do. Why don't you boys practice on each other?" Percy asked, frown lines appearing on his forehead as he saw two six-year-old Demeter boys trying to impale each other.

"You're on," Louis said, running back to retrieve a sword for himself. "This," he grinned haughtily, "Is a newly made sword. Dad worked on it himself. It's bound to be good."

Alex rolled his eyes, grinning himself, and was about to comment on how a poor workman depended on his tools when there was a blinding flash. Some of the younger children screamed. Alex pulled out his sword, getting into a fighting stance.

"What," Louis cried, rubbing at his eyes, "was that?!" Alex looked over to him, and shrugged. The two boys looked around frantically, confused.

"There!" Alex cried, pointing towards a very familiar looking figure.

"Oh, god." Louis muttered. "Why even-" Alex sheathed Epizon, and ran towards his dad. Louis sighed when he saw his friend darting away again, and went back to examining the sword Leo had helped make as if nothing had happened.

Alex ran to the other side of the arena, skidding to a stop between his father and the man- rather, god- who had come down. "Alex! It's been too long!" The bronze-haired god cried, reaching down and tousling his hair. Percy laughed, though it was not a humorous laugh.

"Hermes," He asked, looking pointedly at the god, "What are you doing here?" Hermes looked down cheerfully.

"We should find someplace private to talk," he said. "I've got some big news!" Alex looked at his dad expectantly. "Oh, by private, it's just me and dad, sonny," Hermes told Alex, "Sorry about that."

Alex bit his lip, hating how Hermes treated him like he wasn't thirteen years old already. Then again, gods hardly aged, so they could hardly be expected to remember how humans aged. And, after all, Hermes was one of the more standable gods.

He watched silently as Hermes lead Percy outside, and when he realized listening in to their conversation was futile, decided to go back to practicing with Louis, as the arena had gone back to normal in a matter of seconds.

"It's weird, right?" Louis asked him as they sparred.

"What is?" Alex asked, dodging a parry.

"The fact that Hermes would just drop in like that." Louis replied, metallic noise filling the air as their swords clashed again.

"Well, he did say he had big news..." Alex said, doing a jab sequence his father had taught him several days ago. "And besides, he's the Messenger of the Gods. If anybody's going to drop in like that, it's going to be him."

"Still," Louis huffed. The two of them continued sparring in silence, each contemplating why the God had decided to join them like that. Both of them were good enough that there was no clear winner, and when Percy Jackson walked in on their now tired duel, he was quite impressed.

"Hey boys," He said, stepping in between of them to stop their fighting, "Sorry to disturb this, but you may want to stop and go pack your bags."

"Why?" Louis asked, craning his neck.

"Because," Percy said, looking first at his son, and then at Louis Valdez, "We're going to New Rome."

**** A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews are always super appreciated! Chapter 3 will be up soon~ ****


	3. Chapter 3- A Surprise Visit

**III**

**A Surprise Visit **

Lara Grace sat at the breakfast table, picking at her pancakes with uninterested abandon. She swung her legs underneath her table, waiting for either one of her parents to come and join her. She was getting lonely.

Her cat, Montague, purred as he laced around her ankles, tickling them with his soft white fur. Lara gently stroked him with her feet while watching shimmering drops of maple syrup fall from her fork.

Her mother was sleeping upstairs, and she didn't want to go and wake her up. Her father had gone for his morning jog, and Lara was sitting there, anticipating his return.

Montague leaped up onto her lap, and Lara yelped, startled. Just then, Jason opened the door to their living room, and the wind chime by it rang. Lara placed Montague onto the ground, and then got up and ran towards her father.

"Dad!" She cried, running down and hugging him. Jason laughed as he spun around his daughter. "I was waiting for you to come back. It sure gets lonely in here..."

"That's what Mom always says is the problem with this house." Jason said as he closed the door and slipped off his shoes. "It's so big, so..." He stopped and waved his hand around, for emphasis, "Empty." Lara nodded seriously.

"Come now, what's for breakfast?" He asked as he took off his running jacket to reveal a simple white shirt.

"Food," Lara said with a short laugh as she lead her father to the kitchen table. The Graces had two tables: one in the dining room, meant for entertaining large crowds; the other, in the kitchen, where they ate together most of the days.

As Jason sat down at the kitchen table, and helped himself to a plate of pancakes, eggs, and hash browns, he said, "I've got some great news, Larabar!"

Lara frowned at her dad for using the nickname that had stuck since she was three. When they had found out that there was a granola bar company that called itself "Larabar," nobody could resist calling what was then the little toddler that. Maybe at some point it was cute, but as far as Lara was concerned, it had gotten old.

Jason grinned, looking quite smug at his daughter's reaction. "What is it?" She asked him, nevertheless. Jason opened his mouth, about to say something, when he was interrupted.

"Good to see you two are already having breakfast!" Lara's mother, Piper, exclaimed, walking in. She was wearing her orange morning robe, and despite having messy hair and looking like she just woke up- which, technically, she had- Piper Grace looked beautiful.

"Yup," Jason smiled, motioning to the seat next to him, which currently Montague was using to sleep on. "Come join us." Piper walked over and removed the family cat from the seat, and sat down herself.

"Dad says he's got important news." Lara informed her mother, as she dug into her pancakes. "He was just about to tell me, though I suppose it's good that you're here, too, so you can hear it as well."

Jason nodded. "Actually, now that I come to think of it, there are two important things to mention." Piper reached over and took her husband's hand, squeezing it gently.

"The Hazel thing?" She asked him, and Jason smiled softly at her, nodding. Lara cocked her head, confused. Hazel Zhang and her family were family friends, their son, Sammy, being one of Lara's best friends. She sincerely hoped nothing was wrong with them.

"Do you think Sammy knows?" Piper was saying, and Jason shrugged.

"Knows what?" Lara asked, eyes wide. Jason and Piper exchanged a glance, and Jason reached over and gently put an arm around his daughter's shoulders.

"It's nothing you should wrinkle your pretty little nose over, Larabar," He said, and Lara almost believed him.

Her father had all the qualities of a good leader, and a great father. Unfortunately, one of those qualities was the ability to assure and, in a way that was very similar to lying, keep the spirits of his people up. When she was younger, Lara fell for it, and it was like nothing was ever wrong. Now, though, she had gotten older, and smarter, and the fact that her parents didn't want her to worry about it made her worry even more.

"Really." Piper nodded. Lara sat up straighter, wondering if she was detecting some charmspeak. She looked over to her mother, who winked at her. Lara grinned, realizing this meant she was getting better at charmspeaking altogether.

"What's the other one?" She asked as she bit into a juicy strawberry. She loved the little berries; sweet and tart and juicy.

"Hmm?" Jason asked as he cut at a hash brown. Because both Piper and Lara were vegetarian, the food in the house was usually vegetarian, though as he cut into his potatoes, Jason wished there was sausage or bacon for breakfast every once in a while.

"You said there were two important things, dad." Lara pointed out.

"Oh, yes." Jason said, looking up. Piper, too, looked up, arching an eyebrow.

"Did you tell me about this?" Piper asked him.

Jason looked at her and shook his head gleefully. Lara looked at him too, stroking Montague with her feet once more. For a second, the only sound in the dining room was the quiet purring of their cat.

Then, Jason set down his fork. "Remember Percy Jackson?" He asked. "Leo Valdez?" He was met with choruses of "yes, of course!" and "how could we forget?"

Lara's pulse quickened. Alex, Gwen, and Louis were some of her best friends, and any news regarding them would be paramount. "What about them?" She asked softly. Jason looked over and grinned.

"They, Larabar," He whispered, excitedly, "Are coming to New Rome."


	4. Chapter 4- Coming Home to New Rome

**IV**

**Coming Home to New Rome **

Sammy Zhang loved the Graces' house. It was large, and painted a faint blue-white color. It had large, open windows and plenty of sunshine. And then there were the paintings: many, many of them, ranging from expensive works from famous painters to things Lara had done when she was a toddler. Money was really no object for them.

Standing in their hallway wearing a suit and tie made him feel less out of place than usual, and even though he felt positively choked by the bright orange tie, he appreciated the fact that for once, in all his visits to the Graces' fancy house, he looked like he actually belonged in a lifestyle like that.

His mother was talking in hushed voices with Mrs. Grace, and the two of them were motioning over to him and their husbands, and the upstairs room where he could have guessed Lara was at. He stood alone for a second, with only the Graces' white cat, Montague, for company. Sammy looked around, trying to make things less awkward, but finally decided to find his dad, who was, if possible, even more awkward than himself.

Frank Zhang was outside, on the Graces' front porch, sitting with Jason Grace, also talking. Sammy walked over to his dad, and silently sat down on the chair next to him.

"...Anytime soon," He was saying. Sammy considered asking what was happening anytime soon, when Jason noticed him.

"Hello there, Sammy!" He said, in his jovial, official Jason-Grace way. "You're looking awfully sharp today! Suits you." Beaming, Sammy replied,

"Thanks, Mr. Grace! You look great yourself!" Jason laughed and commented on how polite Frank's son was, and in a second, they went back to talking about whatever was happening anytime soon, as if Sammy wasn't even there.

"Where's Lara?" Sammy asked finally.

"Getting ready," Jason said, motioning towards the windows that peered into the second floor of the house. "You know how girls can be." Even though it was beginning to get dark out, Sammy was pretty sure Jason winked.

He bit his lip, finding that the place he had come to be less awkward was beginning to become even more awkward than if he had just stood by himself in the recipient hall with Montague for company. It was just that Jason Grace was such a respected, revered, adored individual in the Camp Jupiter community, and having him joke around with him like that was just point blank weird, even after having thirteen years to get used to it.

Sammy paused, and after Jason and Frank had stopped for a second, tugged on his father's sleeve. "Um, dad," He said softly, "What's happening any time soon?" Frank Zhang looked down at his son, and grinned, ruffling his hair.

"It was going to be a surprise." He said. He looked over at Jason, who put a finger to his lips, motioning him to keep quiet.

"Yes, but...?" Sammy urged his father. Being the socially weakened person Sammy Zhang was, surprises weren't his friend. Usually, Sammy ended up saying or doing something embarrassing when he was surprised.

"Nothing!" Jason cried, back in his joking "I'm-just-one-of-you-youngsters" manner. Sammy smiled blankly at them, and looked around the Graces' perfectly manicured yard, feeling a lot like a third wheel at a sophisticated adult conversation.

It felt like forever, but was more like forty minutes, when a charcoal grey van pulled up into the driveway. "There!" Jason cried, getting up and walking over to his door.

Sammy, who had been uninterested and barely awake, was now sharply alert. After all, the Grace family rarely had visitors who took their cars, meaning whoever was inside that car probably didn't live in New Rome.

Sammy's pulse escalated when he realized who it could be. Who it had to be.

He watched in silent awe as the car's doors opened, and out walked the two families who Sammy hadn't seen in three years. The Greeks had come to New Rome.


End file.
